Tehran's 9000-year-old site lacks funding for excavation

Tehran Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department (TCHTHO) lacks adequate funding to finance any new excavations on the 9000-year-old Ozbaki Tepe in Nazarabad, near Savojbolagh in Tehran Province.

The first season of excavations was carried out on the site in 1997, during which several architectural ruins and artifacts dating back to ancient times and the early Islamic era were discovered.

A team of archaeologists led by Yusef Majidzadeh excavated the site in October 2005 for the second time.

During the excavations, a Median fortress and a series of mud bricks, which are believed to be the first instance of these kinds of artifacts, were unearthed at the site that includes Gomush Tepe, Jeyran Tepe, Yan Tepe, Maral Tepe, and Doshan Tepe.

Excavation projects have been halted at many ancient sites in Tehran Province, Archaeology Research Center of Iran (ARCI) Director Mohammad-Hassan Fazeli Nashli told the Persian service of CHN on Friday.

According to Fazeli Nashli, TCHTHO is also unable to safeguard the sites due to the shortage of funds.